Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1478618
14 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2022 but we still know of cited parts that aren't avail- able. It's a project-stopper. Matties: What about inflation? What are the pricing dynamics for parts right now? Dack: Transportation costs have gone sky-high, but obsolescence or unavail- ability can render a part worthless. It's a mix. Matties: So, there's no real solu- tion out here other than hard work and a lot of effort going into sourcing. Dack: I use the term "unobtainium" from time to time—trying to create something out of nothing. I know that people are working hard but working hard on mining unobtainium only gets you so far. I think we're frustrated in the industry because there are no answers for cer- tain questions. Shaughnessy: When you're working with the customer, how has that changed? It must be really frustrating for you and the customer. Dack: Well, if the customer can get it rede- signed and send us the specifications, then we provide the internal documentation and manage the manufacturing of the product. It's pretty seamless. However, we're also experi- encing a "supply chain" issue with personnel. We're not immune to the shortage of mid-level to senior-level designers in our group. Talk about unobtainium because there is a shortage of experienced PCB design engineers. We've determined that if we can't find personnel with experience, we will create that experi- ence. We'll hire inexperienced candidates with potential and desire, then train and teach them what they need to know. Shaughnessy: Where are you finding these potential designers? Dack: We're using the term "PCB design engi- neer" now; that's who we want to create. We will take a candidate with a technical aptitude or an electrical engineer who wants to learn more about printed circuit design and turn them into a PCB design engineer. Holden: Is this partially due to the gray wave and the pandemic upscaling? Dack: Absolutely. We talked about the gray tsunami, Happy. e first time I heard that term was a few years ago. It's real; we're losing the experienced designers. How will they be replaced? We see that schools are pumping out engineering personnel, they're very quick to learn printed circuit design soware and tools, but they're running with scissors. It's evident that they're not being trained in DFM or DFX principles. We must still teach that.